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Decorative Sculpture Bronze: The Greeks, too, used color on their sculpture: marble statues had tinted hair and touches of color in the eyes, on the lips, and in decorative sculpture bronze patterns of the draperies; bronze figures often had inlays of other colored metals or enamel; while those made of inferior materials, such as limestone, terra cotta, and wood, were often entirely painted. From traces of pigment still extant, it is clear that color was extensively employed for architectural sculpture.
Sculpture, like architecture, was not accorded due recognition by the Chinese. While we know the great painters, the sculptors are anonymous.The oldest specimens of Chinese sculpture were found in the Shang dynasty tombs at Anyang. The owl, tiger, and turtle are favorite motifs, and the human figure also appears occasionally. These marble pieces are in the round, some of them being architectural elements. Their surfaces are decorated with patterns like those found on the contemporary bronzes. In decorative sculpture bronze pattern, in basic concepts of form and mass, and in spirit, the sculpture and the bronzes are one. Bronze masks have also been found, some of the t'ao-t'ieh, some of human beings. They are often well modeled.
When the outer envelope, or negative mold, was broken off, the sculpture was revealed as he had modeled it in wax except for projecting bronze rods and pouring channels which had to be cut down to the surface of the statue. This method, also used by the ancient Greeks and the Chinese, produces the finest quality of bronze casting; however, it is not always successful. Sometimes the bronze does not flow into all parts of the interior space, in which case the sculptor may have to repeat his work from the beginning. |
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